One of the highlights of last year’s one month trip to Zimbabwe and Botswana was the afternoon we spent on the Pangolin Photo Safaris boat. There is no better way to explore the Chobe River – you can get really close to the birds and watch all the action from water level, as the Pangolin boats are small. In the afternoon the elephants are usually crossing the river to get to the Namibian side – and elephants do enjoy water, so there are plenty of photographic opportunities.

I converted this photo to monochrome to highlight the interesting textures on the elephants’ skin, which seem to be more defined when they are wet. I am including the colour version here for comparison – which one do you like best? Let me know in the comments below!

Elephants drinking at the Chobe River, Botswana. Colour Version

Tech Specs: Canon 5D Mark III | Canon 200-400L f4 with 1.4 Extender @ 316mm | f4 | 1/1250 | ISO 500